Day 87 of my cycling journey around the world – July 27, 2022
Today was a short day. Lots of breaks and lot of stops. Cycling 59 km after I left my friends’ house I rode from Münster to a campground in the Bavarian Odenwald near the little village of Eichenbühl. There I stayed on a little campground and watched a football game.
I left my friends’ home at the same time they went to work at about 07:30 h. Cycling was going to get much more interesting again as further I went away from the Rhein-Main industrial spread. Since I cycled through the Odenwald I had to cycle hills again, some of them rather steep. I don’t know if many of the readers are aware that the central and southern parts of Germany are seriously hilly areas. The hills are not so high but the constant steep ups and downs is an energy sapping experience for any cyclist. Soon after my departure I was on the top of a hill where an ancient medieval watchtower stood. It was in a remarkable good condition, and it was possible to ascend it. Looking through the top windows an impressive view greeted me. I could see over the entirety of the Main valley and Frankfurt, and could even see the hazy outlines of the Taunus range just beyond it. A truly spectacular view of the area and it became absolutely clear why the bishops of Mainz, which owned this piece of land in the past, had built the watchtower at this precise spot.
I left the watchtower and the Odenwald area to go down into the Main valley once more. The Main Cycle path is an absolute joy to ride, and I took the opportunity to follow the Main for some kilometres. Little riverside villages with their dominant churches, and castle ruins on the hilltops were lurking behind the river bends and were an absolute delight to experience. I reached the town of Miltenberg. In this town I bought provisions for two days because I knew that I would be going on a route with only small villages around. Unfortunately, many of the little villages in Germany don’t have grocery stores anymore and one must plan ahead. Packed with too many goodies, it is a bad habit to go hungry into a shop, I set off inland from Miltenberg into the direction of Tauberbischofsheim. On this way I had again some serious climbing to do. It wasn’t going to be very high, but very steep indeed. Before, however, the serious climbing started I passed a small campground, which hadn’t been on Google Maps (yes, there are things Google Maps doesn’t know). Taking the opportunity, I checked in and stayed the night there. I thought it would be much more sensible to climb first thing in the morning when my strength is at its peak.
Setting up my tent happened in no time, and I also had seen a restaurant not far away. I went to the restaurant, had a dinner, wrote some diary entries and blogs articles and when I was finished with the brainwork my mental capacity was just sufficiently low level to watch a women’s Euro football game (disclaimer: watching football in general does not require a high mental activity regardless of if its men or women who play). Coming back to my tent after the game I was sufficiently nourished and fortified by several large beer that sleep came immediately.